Beyond the Battle Blimp: Making Caprica‘s Gritty New Cap City

New Cap City, the neo-noir virtual world explored by holoband wearers in Caprica, is filled with shadowy gangsters, flashing neon and menacing skyscrapers. And then there’s the “battle blimp,” aka the “hell zeppelin” — a giant floating war machine that strafes the virtual city’s grimy sidewalks.

It’s all part of the retro-futuristic world created for the show, a Battlestar Galactica prequel that spins race, religion and the birth of the Cylons into a sci-fi soap opera.

“When you’re in New Cap City in the show, you know you’re there,” says Caprica visual effects artist Kyle Toucher in the video above. “It’s night a lot, there’s giant lights, it’s kind of a greenish, grainy texture about the whole thing.”

Toucher, writer-producer Ronald D. Moore and visual-effects supervisor Gary Hutzel show how New Cap City is brought to life in behind-the-scenes featurettes included in the Caprica Season 1 DVD, out Tuesday. They also discuss the upcoming season of Caprica, which begins tonight at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central on Syfy.

“There’s many elements in New Cap City that the audience still hasn’t seen,” says Hutzel in the video clip, which is excerpted from the DVD extras.

Giveaway: Caprica DVD and 12 Colonies Guidebook

Wired.com is giving away three copies of the Caprica Season 1 DVD, paired with three copies of Beyond Caprica: A Visitor’s Pocket Guide to the 12 Colonies, a faux travel guide that delves into the human outposts’ geography and culture. To enter, share your thoughts on Caprica in the comments section below. Comments must be received by 12:01 a.m. Pacific time, Oct. 12, 2010. Three winners will be selected at random and notified by e-mail.